1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a stabilizer pad for use with earth moving apparatus. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with a stabilizer pad that is reversible so that it may be usable on either, for example, concrete or a more yielding surface such as dirt or gravel.
2. Background Discussion
Reference is now made herein to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,897,079, 3,913,942 and 4,889,362 each relating to stabilizer pads for earth moving apparatus. These prior art patents illustrate a reversible stabilizer pad having a generally flanged surface for engagement with travel, for example, and a somewhat resilient surface for engagement with concrete or asphalt, for example. U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,362 describes a latching means for locking the stabilizer pad in a predetermined position. As pointed out in the background discussion of this patent, there is a tendency for the pad to self flip, particularly should the earth moving machine pad support arm be lifted. The self flipping of the pad can be remedied with the use of a securing or engaging pin or bolt that is required to be secured in each position of the pad and to be disassembled and re-secured when the position of the pad is to be changed. This becomes time consuming and furthermore may involve parts that are easily lost. The operator may also simply not bother to use the securing pin or bolt.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,362 addresses this self flipping problem by means of the use of an automatically operable securing latch that prevents pad self-flipping. Although the securing latch operates quite satisfactorily in accordance with the teachings in this patent, it does employ a plurality of components and is therefore somewhat costly to build and somewhat difficult to manufacture and assemble.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reversible stabilizer pad for use with earth moving apparatus that is provided with an improved automatically operable securing latch that prevent pad self-flipping and is simpler and less costly to build.